Types of News Stories, Features, Editorials
Cards (57)
- Scope or Origin
- Local news
- National news
- Foreign news
- Dateline news
- Local news - report of events that takes place within the immediate locality.
- National news - news that takes place within the country.
- Foreign news - news that takes place outside the country.
- Dateline news - news preceded by the date and the place of origin or place where it was written or filled.
- Chronology or Sequence
- Advance or Anticipated
- spot news
- coverage news
- follow-up news
- Advance or Anticipated - news published before its occurrence, sometimes called dope or prognostication. the reporter foretells events expected to occur at a definite time in the future.
- Spot news - news that is gathered and reporter on the spot. it deals with unscheduled information demanding immediate publication. the reporter himself is an eyewitness to the event that took place.
- Coverage news - news written from a given beat. both spot news and coverage news are good examples of first hand-reporting.
- Follow-up news - a sequel to a previous story. having a new lead of its own, it is a second, third or subsequent chapter of a serial.
- Structure
- straight news
- news feature
- Straight news - news that consists off facts given straight without embellishment. its main aim is to inform. it uses the summary lead and is written using the inverted pyramid structure.
- News Feature - it is also based on facts, but it entertains more than it informs.
- Single-feature story - the story deals with an isolated event
- Several-feature story - several facts are included in the lead in their order of importance.
- Treatment
- fact story
- action story
- speech report
- quote story
- interview story
- hard news
- soft news
- Fact story - this is a plain exposition setting forth a single situation or a series of closely related facts that inform. it is written in the inverted pyramid design.
- Action story - a narrative of actions involving not mere simple facts but also of dramatic events, description of persons and events, perhaps testimony of witnesses as well as explanatory data, sports games, etc.
- Speech report - a news story usually written from a public address, talks, and speeches.
- Quote story - speeches, statements and letters, and to some extent, interviews when reported, are regarded as quote stories.
- Interview story - a news report written from an interview
- Hard news - events, such as killings, city council meetings and speeches by leading government officials, are timely and are reported almost automatically by the media.
- Soft news - events, such as lunch to honor a retiring school custodian or a boy scouting jamboree are not usually considered immediately important or timely to a wide audience.
- Content
- routine story - celebrations, enrollment, graduation, etc.
- police report - accident, fire, calamity, crime stories, etc.
- science news
- developmental news
- sports stories
- Minor forms
- news brief
- news bulletin
- news-featurette
- flash
- News brief - a short item of news interest, written like a brief telegraphic message, given mainly the result with details
- News bulletin - it is similar to the lead of a straight news story. its aim is just to give the gist of the news.
- News-featurette - this is a short news feature usually used as filler.
- Flash - a bulletin that conveys the first word of an event.
- A feature is a longer piece of writing than a news story
- will often cover an issue in greater depth than a news story would do
- Feature journalism is creative journalism
- Punch - a short, snappy sentence in a paragraph by itself. the second paragraph gives more detail.
- Background - a descriptive lead that focuses on the circumstances surrounding the event, not on the participants.
- Direct Quote - used when the speaker's words summarize and dramatize the event.
- Question - to be avoided unless it directly raises the issue. if the reporter knows the answer, he should simply tell the reader.
- Descriptive - concentrates on the five senses, showing readers what the event or person looked like.
- Contrast - plays up opposites to sharpen the focus on the news.
- Allusion - plays to the readers knowledge of literature, history, or mythology and delights in their resemblance to current events.
- Parody - relates the situation to son, poem, quote, book, or movie by paralleling well-known words.
- An editorial is the official stand of the paper on a relevant development or issue.